


a girl like me

by busone



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 12:28:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5456546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/busone/pseuds/busone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a chance encounter at a very small promotion party</p>
            </blockquote>





	a girl like me

Raine was on a roll and she couldn't be stopped until she was done. She was at the point in her rant where outsiders would think she was bordering on hysterical because her voice rose and she'd used a single breath to get her entire point across. It was a big point.

"...and no matter how many times I say it, I'll keep saying it: black women all around the world are at the bottom of the totem pole and will continue to be at the bottom of the totem pole because black men don't care. They. Do. Not. Care. At all." She finished this rant like she always finished it: exasperatedly and slightly angry.

"Okay, you know not all black men are like that," her friend Michael argued next to her.

"When was the last time you called out one of your black male friends for talking shit about black women?" she asked accusingly. Michael looked away from her, into the remaining foam from his beer. "I rest my case," she sighed taking another sip of her drink.

Ten minutes later Yuri and Jess, her best friends, sat down in the lounge chairs Raine and Michael had saved for them.

"First of all, I didn't even want to come here in the first place, but then yall show up almost an hour late? You're lucky we're black enough to scare people away from sitting with us," Raine joked as they laid back.

"Whatever," Yuri retorted. "This is a nice place and you've already had a full fifty minutes to enjoy the view before us," she finished with her eyes closed.

"For all the view I'm getting I could have just looked out my window at home," Raine mused. They were at The Rooftop in Georgetown to celebrate Raine's promotion as the head of the Catholic Social Justice Center at their alma mater. To Raine, and actually to her friends as well, The Rooftop wasn't really worth the money. Like everything in Georgetown, it was expensive and filled with pretentious yuppies (for lack of a better word). Raine wanted to celebrate her promotion in the city, but everyone else thought she should celebrate it close to home and get used to the perks of a higher paying positions (because waiting twenty five minutes for one of the four bartenders to bring you a tonic soda was a perk, apparently).

"What took you guys so long to get here, though?" Michael asked.

"Some high profile celebrity is here. Can you believe? All the nice places to go in DC and they come to the one with the worst service and most boring music ever," Jess laughed.

"Maybe it's a politician trying to seem relatable," Michael suggested.

"Great. Just who I want to be around when I'm on a break from tearing down the patriarchy: a politician," Raine deadpanned. 

"Well, just enjoy this time before they get up here. According to security downstairs, they're still busy but they'll be here soon," Yuri commented before walking off to get a drink.

**

Raine had once been in the same room with Barak Obama. He was giving a speech at Howard and she'd been lucky enough to get picked from the lottery of slots awarded to non-student and -faculty. Just being in the same room as him, she knew he had power. She was in the balcony of the hall, but she could feel the way it rolled off of him, feel it in the way that not only the body guards, but everyone in the room pulled towards him- like he was magnetic. She could tell that, even if he didn't have something enthralling to say, people would still want to know his opinion just because it was him. He _mattered_.

When the pop star finally made his way to The Rooftop, Raine had that same feeling she'd had with Obama, but it was almost stronger. Her, Michael, Jess, and Yuri had been looking at the wonderful view of Rosslyn when she felt the shift in the atmosphere. The whole terrace seemed to be vibrating and buzzing, trying to discreetly look at whoever it was sitting at the bar. It was dark now, though, and more people were in line ordering drinks so Raine couldn't see who it was.

In most cases she wouldn't have wanted to see who it was, but this was someone different. Obama had power, but she had to admit to herself that he was no Beyonce or even Taylor Swift. They were the type of powerful that could create their own countries.

After a few minutes of craning her neck, Raine decided whoever it was wasn't worth it for her to find out. 

"No fucking shit," Jess huffed lowly as Raine closed her eyes.

"Hm?" 

"It's that boy from that white band-" Michael started.

"It's fucking Harry Styles," Yuri cut him off in a disbelieving tone.

"Yeah him. And he's coming this way," Michael grumbled.

Raine hadn't opened her eyes during the short realization between them- she knew Harry Styles but she still wasn't interested- until she remembered that her and Michael being black actually _had_ scared people away from sitting near them and that there was still an empty seat next to her. With this awareness, her eyes snapped open. Just as Raine was turning her head to look in the direction he'd be coming from, a huge, bald body guard stood between her and the unoccupied chair next her. He looked down at the four of them skeptically, as if he knew they'd cause problems.

"Uh, hi," Raine called up to him. "I'm Lorraine, this is Michael, Yuri, and Jess." The guard gave her a quizzical look. "Just thought I'd introduce us since you're clearly going to be keeping a _special_ look out for us tonight," Raine answered with a tight smile and narrowed eyes.

A throat cleared behind the guard. "It's fine, Jordan. You don't actually need to keep me away from other people. You should actually relax a little. Trust me it's fine if you sit- I don't think anyone is gonna attack me here," he added quickly when the guard looked at him doubtfully.

After the guard sat down, the boy turned towards the group. "I'm Harry," he smiled and held out his hand toward Raine. All four of them looked at his hand but made no move to shake it. "Tough crowd," he chuckled nervously while scratching the back of his neck.

"What brings you to D.C.?" Jess finally asked.

"Oh just got a show," Harry shrugged.

"So it's true? All celebrities stay at the Four Seasons even though whatever they're doing in D.C. isn't actually in Georgetown?" Michael scoffed.

"Oh, um, no I'm actually at the Marriot across the bridge."

All four of the others snapped their heads towards him and in unison exclaimed, "You're staying in _Virginia?_ "

"Oh, good God you've got to be almost a multibillionaire by now right? What could possibly possess you to stay there?" Jess sputtered.

At the beginning of August in D.C. it was always hot enough to turn paler skins red, but Harry was clearly embarrassed. 

"Well, D.C. is a big tourist city so I looked up some cool places to go and a lot of people said to check out the Georgetown area and then I saw that the Marriot across the bridge had a great view of the school and around there really doesn't have a lot of tourist, so less being spotted..." he trailed off.

"Okay, if you're staying in a hotel room with a view of the city, then why are you here?" Michael asked.

"I don't get the whole city though. Just Georgetown," Harry answered.

"And so, out of all the rooftop bars in D.C., you come to _The_ Rooftop Bar and Lounge, which gives you a great view of your own hotel? Fire your tour guide," Jess chuckled.

"Well, isn't it worth it for a pint and good company?" Harry raised his glass towards the others.

Raine scoffed. "Absolutely not."

Harry's face fell a little. "Why not?"

"Your one pint of beer probably costs the same amount as a 16 pack of Nattie Lite and is only slightly better in quality. You can find good, _free_ company anywhere."

"And yet, here you are, with your specialty drink that surely costs more than my beer," he retorted.

"Upon the request of my friends to celebrate a promotion," Raine declared easily.

"Bull! You can't fall back on your friends; we're all adults here. You can be one of those people that claims life would be better without money, but you're never going to stop using it," he fired.

"Ah, yes. Great capitalism. There is no way to escape and so I must take it down from the inside out," Raine smiled.

"And coming to an expensive bar is your coup?" Harry questioned in disbelief.

"No, but giving this place a one-star Yelp review for expensive, low quality drinks, along with the recipe for a better Do It Yourself of what I'm having? That will be one of my small contributions to the overthrow," Raine mused.

"I'm sure there are easier ways."

"Such as?"

"I don't know. Why not a revolution? I'm sure there's been enough in history that you and other...revolutionaries could look at their methods," Harry concluded.

"The only way an anticapitalist revolution could even possibly work in this country would be if rich, white men joined in," Raine challenged, raising an eyebrow.

Harry, it seemed, was willing to oblige. "I'm sure there are plenty who share your sentiments," he responded, looking her in the eye.

Raine could feel the tension of the others, but she wouldn't let it stop her. It had been a long while since she'd had a fresh face to argue with. She believed that no argument was strong until _all_ sides had been shot down.

Raine never looked away as she answered. "Out of all the rich, white men in this country, there is a negligible amount that would agree with my sentiments, and even less that would join a revolution. So for now, I will applaud myself on my small victories." 

Harry continued looking at her, his forehead scrunched as he looked for a new way to argue. Finally he smiled, shaking his head. "You've won this round," he smirked at her. 

"I win all rounds, young Jedi," Raine side-eyed him with her own smirk.

The night continued with Raine and Harry arguing, though more jokey than serious, and more flirty once they'd had more alcohol (Harry had insisted on opening a tab for them in celebration of Raine's promotion). Even after the others had left, Raine and Harry stayed, enjoying the coolness of the night. The bar was emptier now, it was really late, but nothing felt rushed.

Harry cleared his throat to get her attention. "So, is Michael your boyfriend?" he mumbled while looking at his hands.

"No, Jess'," Rained breathed. She turned to look at him and found him smiling at her. "What?" she asked nervously.

"I'm just happy," he claimed.

"Okay, weirdo," Raine laughed. "Oh! You have an eyelash." She reached over and swiped a finger across his cheek and held the lash up to him. "Make a wish."

Harry blew the lash off her finger, laughing as he did so. "Y'know if you wanted to touch my face you could have just asked."

"What?" Raine laughed.

"Here, I'll make it easier." He swung his legs around towards her and dragged his chair until they were closer together. "Free access to my face," he smiled.

"There's no more eyelashes," she protested.

"I don't know, I didn't see an eyelash when you told me there was one," he conspired with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"What was it? An eyebrow? Sorry, I'll get it right next time.

"Raine, the others aren't here you don't have to pretend," he jested.

"Harry, what-"

"Here just-" he grabbed her nearest hand and set it against his cheek. "See, look how happy you look!"

Raine couldn't stop laughing. "Oh my God, do the millions of girls obsessed with you know that you're kind of insane?" She asked through laughs.

"Shhh!" he scolded, putting a finger over her mouth.

Raine sighed in defeat. Very slowly she moved her finger around his face, but he seemed to be enjoying it as he pushed his face into her hand. After a few minutes, Raine, ever conscious of the fact that finger oils (especially in the summer) made breakouts a nightmare, leaned over more to move her fingers through his hair.

She looked down at Harry when his head was suddenly moving away from her hand. He was gripping under the mat of her lounge chair, around the metal, and he swiftly pulled it, and thus her, until their chairs were touching. He readjusted himself until he was snuggling her and putting her hand back in his hair.

"So your arms don't get tired," he smiled up at her with a devilish grin.

"How are you gonna tell me I don't have to pretend when you're more than enjoying laying on my boobs?" Raine accused.

Harry wound his arms around her waist before sliding himself up a bit, resting his head just below her ear.

"This better?" he whispered into her neck. All she could do was nod.

At some point, Harry started humming, his thumb- under her shirt but just above her waistline- rubbing along to the song. The brush of his thumb could have lulled Raine to sleep, but the contact mixed with the vibrations on her neck kept her wide awake.

Though she hadn't been trying to figure out what the song was, Raine could tell that it was over when his nose began brushing against her skin until he could kiss her collarbone.

"Can I do this?" Harry breathed.

Still aware that they were very much in public, Raine wanted to say no, but gave the tiniest nod anyway.

After peering at the dwindling crowd over Raine's shoulder, Harry kissed her neck, her shoulders, behind her ear, and, when he thought he could get away with it, the side of her mouth.

Moving his way back over to her ear he whispered, "Would you come back with me if I asked?"

Raine took some time to think about this proposition. First and foremost, though she really wasn't sure if she had a type, she really wanted to believe that he wasn't it. Secondly, Raine was a pretty private person. She was sure there would be speculation about her tomorrow; there was no way someone hadn't snapped a picture of them. And yet.

And yet, this would probably be her only chance at being close to a famous person, among other things. How could she say no?

Harry explained to her that she couldn't be seen getting into the same car as him, so they would pick her up a few blocks around the corner. The two made a big show of saying goodbye to each other before she left, but Raine doubted it made a difference. 

In the car, Harry still took his time like at the bar, but rather than going slow so as not to get caught, he seemed to admire her body. Raine, for the most part, didn't know what to do, so she just enjoyed herself. She'd worried that her lips would be too big for their kisses not to be awkward, but how could she care that their lips didn't fit perfectly when they felt right?

The hotel room was much of the same. Harry slowly took off Raine's shirt, admiring the tattoo across her side in the light through the window.

They kissed for a while before Raine moved her shaky fingers to take off Harry's shirt. She hadn't realized just how much she was shaking- trembling really- until Harry stopped her midway.

"You don't have to do this," he frowned from above her.

"No, I want to I'm just..." Raine took an uneven breath and looked away from him. "I'm just... inexperienced," she whispered as quietly as she could.

Harry instantly rolled off of her with a loud groan. Raine tried to tell herself that she wasn't mortified, but she was frozen from embarrassment and afraid to draw any more attention to herself, lest the feeling get worse.

"I just don't want to be your first time when it's supposed to be with someone special," he said after a short while, still looking at the ceiling.

"It's not... my first time, I just don't have sex a lot."

"You must turn down a lot of offers," he mused with a smirk.

Raine gave a short, sarcastic laugh. "Not the case whatsoever."

"What do you mean?"

"Guys don't really go for girls like me."

Harry seemed determined to prove her wrong; there was barely a place on her body he hadn't kissed. 

Raine rested her head on his shoulder and her arm around his waist. Harry's fingers skimmed across her lower back. They were content, albeit exhausted; the sun had to be just around the corner.

"I know you won't be here when I wake up, but please stay until I fall asleep," Harry pleaded tiredly.

"Yeah," Raine answered while nodding.

It took Harry just three minutes to fall asleep, and Raine wanted to follow his lead, but she knew she wouldn't-couldn't. 

Raine looked at Harry's sleeping form- now holding onto a pillow- as she gripped the door handle. Out of the few times she'd left a bedroom this way, she regretted this time the most. And in the end, the regret was the reason she knew she needed to leave.

**Author's Note:**

> if you actually read this and actually like this, come say something to me on my tumblr (also busone)  
> if you actually read this and fucking hate this, come tell me to fuck off on my tumblr (also busone)


End file.
